LONDON: Iconic British secret agent James Bond’s ability to unite the British people is required now more than ever, tennis star Andy Murray said in a candid interview with The Times on Saturday.

The 30-year-old defending Wimbledon champion was speaking about unity after a year in which the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union and suffered three deadly terror attacks as well as this week’s devastating fire in London.

Murray, talking ahead of the key Wimbledon warm-up event at Queen’s which gets underway on Monday in London, told The Times: “Every time a new James Bond movie comes out everyone’s so pumped for it and we start comparing the Bonds.

“People know James Bond as being a British icon.

“With everything that’s happened over the last year, the country has a decision to make.

“Does it divide us or does it bring us together. The closer together we become, the better it is for the country,” said Murray, who came out in support of a pro Scottish independence vote in 2014.

Murray, whose mother Judy joined him in being honoured by Queen Elizabeth II on Friday, said unlike Bond he craves to go unrecognised.

“I don’t like being the centre of attention and obviously when you lose a match and there are lots of people around, you just want to go unnoticed,” he said.

Murray has been promoting this weekend’s ‘The Great Get Together’ to honour the politician Jo Cox who was murdered a year ago. He agreed with her sister who said his support is just that of any normal person.

“It’s absolutely true and that’s why I mentioned being invisible because I’m uncomfortable if people are staring at me,” said Murray.

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